Ledley King is scheduled to step up his rehabilitation from his groin problem next week, although caution continues to underpin any prediction of when the Tottenham Hotspur captain may play again.

King tore a muscle at Fulham on 16 October and Harry Redknapp, the manager, has described the defender's progress as "slow". It was feared that King, who also has a chronic knee injury, might need corrective surgery, but the club is to press on with his course of strengthening exercises.

"It's a difficult one," said Joe Jordan, Tottneham's assistant manager. "But if all goes well, there could be a day next week when he could be back at the early stages with the squad. At this moment in time we have tried not to go down that route [of surgery]."

The positive progress of Tottenham's other long-term central defensive casualty, Jonathan Woodgate, has been measured in the recent absence of any setback and Jordan confirmed that Rafael van der Vaart would not be fit for the visit of the champions Chelsea on Sunday.

The midfielder tore a hamstring against Liverpool on 28 November and after initially worrying that he would be out for at least four weeks, his hopes of a swift return were raised by a visit to the unorthodox physiotherapist Dick van Toorn in Rotterdam. It is hoped he will be back for next Sunday's trip to Blackpool but Chelsea has come too soon.

A number of Tottenham's players have been laid low by flu including Luka Modric, Jermaine Jenas and Vedran Corluka while Redknapp, too, was forced to stay at home today because of the virus. But the players are over it and Redknapp is expected in the dugout for the Chelsea game. Jenas, though, is out with a recurrence of a calf problem while Niko Kranjcar has a hamstring pull. Tom Huddlestone hopes to return to training next month, after an ankle operation.